The present invention relates to a device for feeding ammunition into an airborne weapon, e.g. a helicopter gun.
Ammunition feed devices are known, which substantially comprise an ammunition box, and a rigid conduit connected at one end to the box and at the other end to the feed opening of the gun inside which the ammunition slides. The ammunition comprises a number of shots connected in articulated manner by metal links which, together with the shots, form a continuous flexible belt.
If the gun is mounted on a revolving turret, a flexible conduit is inserted between the rigid conduit and the feed opening to permit rotation and elevation of the gun.
Finally, if the ammunition box is located some distance from the gun, e.g. for reasons of space or to prevent a noticeable alteration in the center of gravity of the aircraft as the box is emptied, the increase in the length of the conduit increases the friction that must be overcome to feed the ammunition from the box into the gun. Which friction, in addition to the effort required to remove the ammunition from the box and feed it into the conduit, often requires the use of a booster feed motor between the box and the conduit.
Devices of the above type are not without defects, foremost of which is the ammunition jamming inside the device, so that the gun is put out of action and the aircraft left undefended precisely at the most critical phase in the mission, i.e. on engaging the enemy.
In known devices of the above type, jamming of the ammunition mainly occurs between the box and the rigid conduit, the likelihood of which increases even further using a booster motor.